NDC Congress: Vote For Women Candidates - WiLDAF Ghana To NDC Delegates

Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF Ghana) has appealed to delegates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to cast their votes for female candidates as the party goes to congress to elect national executives to stir the affairs of the party for the next four years.

According to WiLDAF Ghana, women when given the opportunity have performed creditably and must be supported to do more.

“WiLDAF Ghana calls on the delegates to sustain these gains by voting massively for women who have put themselves up as candidates for various positions” the statement said.

Though Gender activists over the years have complained about the low representation of women in politics as it fell short of the minimum UN recommended threshold of 30 per cent requirement, WiLDAF Ghana commends the NDC for its efforts over the years to increase women’s participation and representation in political decision making structures.

Women contesting for position in the national executives are:

1. National Chairmanship - Hon. Betty Mould Iddrisu
2. Vice-Chairperson - Hon. Hanni Sherry Aryitey
3. Executive Member - Evelyn Enyonam
4. Deputy General Secretary - Barbara Serwah Asamoah
5. Deputy National Organiser - Vivian Abla Kpeglo
6. Anita Desoso - National Organization

Read below the full WiLDAF Ghana statement:

WiLDAF GHANA CALLS ON DELEGATES OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS (NDC) TO GIVE THEIR VOTES TO FEMALE CANDIDATES AT THE UPCOMING NATIONAL EXECUTIVE ELECTIONS

Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF Ghana) commends the NDC for following due democratic process for the election of its National Executives in their upcoming National Delegate Conference.

WiLDAF Ghana takes the opportunity to also congratulate the following women who have been elected into the following positions at an earlier Congress held in October, 2018.

1. Hon. Hannah Bissiw – National Women’s Organiser
2. Maame Efua Sakyi-Addo - Deputy National Women’s Organiser
3. Abigail Elorm Mensah – Deputy National Women’s Organiser
4. Ruth Dela Sedoh – Deputy National Youth organiser

Again, WiLDAF Ghana commends the NDC for its efforts over the years to increase women’s participation and representation in political decision making structures. These efforts included supporting women to participate in the Beijing Conference (1995), the adoption of the Affirmative Action Policy Guidelines (1998), the introduction of 40% quotas for appointment of women into public and political positions as stated in the Party’s Manifestos (2008 and 2012). Others included the appointment of a few women to high profile political and public positions, which positions included Ministers of State, Speaker of Parliament, Ambassadors and CEOs of State Institutions, Vice Chairs in the Executive Committee of the Party among others. These women have demonstrated competencies and profound professionalism in these positions.

Based on these records, WiLDAF Ghana calls on the delegates to sustain these gains by voting massively for women who have put themselves up as candidates for various positions. Specifically WiLDAF calls on the delegates to vote for all the women contesting the following positions:

7. National Chairmanship - Hon. Betty Mould Iddrisu
8. Vice-Chairperson - Hon. Hanni Sherry Aryitey
9. Executive Member - Evelyn Enyonam
10. Deputy General Secretary - Barbara Serwah Asamoah
11. Deputy National Organiser - Vivian Abla Kpeglo

Finally, we challenge the media to play its watchdog role effectively through positive and objective reporting on the women candidates.

Signed:
Frank Bodza
Programme Manager for Governance